#Leave Academia. It started as a movement and sounded promising! Half a decade later, it has reduced to a mere buzzword! A catch-all phrase for PhDs to enter “non-academic careers”. And there lies my first issue. 

“Leave Academia”. To get where? I agree, knowing “what not to do” is helpful. But imagine combining that with truly realizing what you want to do. 

“Leave Academia”. I caught the fever, too. I found a six-figure-paying industry job out of my postdoc. And honestly, I would have stayed. If it didn’t gnaw at my creativity, leaving me feeling uninnovative. 


“Leave Academia”. But I came back. Ah! Before you judge me, academia is huge with a variety of schools, departments, offices, and positions. Aren’t they happy in their careers? Ask admissions coordinators, community engagement directors, education directors, institutional grant writers, and instructional designers. I found my happy place as a medical educator.

“Leave academia”. Sure, anything else sounds glamorous. Fine threads suit alongside absent-minded academicians. But hasn’t that changed? Aren’t academicians glamorous than ever?

“Leave Academia”. No! I am not here to defend the few rotten apples in the system who have broken other intelligent minds and hearts. Although I cannot be a bystander and watch the institution (no pun intended!) I am part of being criticised. Where are my fellow academicians holding up the fort to share why they stayed in academia? 

“Leave Academia”. But can you pinpoint what you truly don't like about academia, and pivot? Is it the bench? The writing? The data? I wanted to get away from the bench and the life where my salary depended on big grants. Perhaps, there is a middle ground.

“Leave academia”. We envision academicians as burned-out professors caught in the system. Do you know if that paints the full picture of academia? Is it true that non-academic careers are free of burnout? 

“Leave Academia”. There is no money in it. Do you think your startup will make six figures from the get-go? Ask the hustlers. Are you willing to invest time and money with no returns for the first few years?

“Leave Academia”. But ask PhDs from a country different than yours - How easy or difficult is it to leave a postdoc? I do not want to answer for them. But when you hear the answer, please do not make the mistake of lumping them all as one.

“Leave Academia”. Do not buy this at face value. Not without knowing the key skills and values to take away to form your career. Do not leave, because your head tells you to. But because your heart and hands are aligned with your head, too, as David Orr said. It is an interesting concept that you can read about here.

“Leave Academia”. No! Change that narrative. How about “Find your niche”, “Align your interests,” or “Lean into your PhD”? It may appeal more to institutions and PhD programs, increasing support for their trainees. To upskill their graduates to go places rather than training them only to “leave academia”.